Attention cross border recyclers - you're breaking the law!

Recently, I noticed a friend of mine, who shall remain nameless, had a box of empty bottles and cans growing under his desk. 'What are you doing with those?' I asked him, 'taking them to Mt Gambier to claim the recycling fee' he said. Is that legal I wondered to myself? Turns out it's not.

Ian Webber is the owner of Green Triangle recycling in Mt Gambier - one of the closest places for Victorians who might be thinking of making a bit of cash on the side to visit, and it seems there are a few wayward Victorians trying to cash in on the scheme.

When someone comes in with a load of bottles and cans they have to count them all individually, and then they pay you 10 cents per item. As Ian explains, it's a very effective litter control measure which is why it was first introduced in 1975 to help clean up the roads. Recently the rebate was raised from five cents to ten cents to make it even more attractive.

Apparently the money which is paid back to the consumer is built into the cost of the beveridge, although in Ian's experience drinks are often cheaper in South Australia so he's not sure how that works or who might be missing out there, but the important thing is it's a great incentive to recycle.

But there are rules - on every container you will notice it clearly says the rebate only applies to drinks which have been 'sold in South Australia' - so you're only supposed to recycle cans and bottles which you've bought in South Australia, not ones you've bought in Victoria and then taken across the border.

Of course it's very difficult to police this - Ian does ask people where they bought their drinks, and he also checks numberplates to see if you're driving a Victorian car. He says false claims have been a growing problem hence the recent legislation increasing the fine to $30,000 for those who shouldn't be claiming a rebate.

Not that anyone's actually been fined yet, but there are measures in place to try and crack down on things - if you bring in more then $30 worth of containers you have to fill out a declaration with your driver's licence number, car rego number, and address, and that information is then given to the EPA who investigate it and contact the customer if it's thought something dodgy might be going on here.

Another difficulty for Ian is the practice of national labelling where everyone sees the same packaging with the same recycling mesage - it would be better if there were separate containers for South Australia, but that would increase manufacturing costs.

Ian also advocates lobbying your local member or state or federal politicians to try and bring it in as a national scheme. Everyone he asks says they'd like the system to operate nationally, and from all accounts it works.

So next time you're sneaking across the border with a load of illicit recycling, don't get angry at Ian or his fellow recyclers if they turn you away - after all, they're not policemen, they're recyclers, doing what the law is telling them to do.